Grammar question (Seen in a recent news article)?

Question

'The couple has maintained their innocence throughtout the ordeal' Can anybody find the error in this newspaper phrase seen this Friday on the web.

Answer 1

It's okay, but the "their" technically should refer to someone other than the "couple" in question, since the use of "has" identifies "couple" as being used in the singular here.

For example (the twins are mentioned as possible subjects....): "their" refers to the twins.

More troubling is the meaning of "maintained their innocence". Maintain may mean "hold on to" or "continue to assert", but in the latter case, it should be followed by a finite clause, not a noun phrase. So "maintain their innocence" can't mean "assert that they are innocent" but must mean "hold on to their innocence".

So the sentence is grammatically correct (although there's a typo in "throughout") in a context such as

(The twins' older sister may have been brutally raped but) the couple has maintained their innocence throughout the ordeal.

Answer 2

Google returns the following hits:

"couple have maintained its" - 0
"couple has maintained its" - 0
"couple have maintained their" - 10
"couple has maintained their" - 14

The last combination occurs in several distinct articles, so it's not just a case of repetition. The source of the first article is AP, which is known for rather high journalistic standards, including spelling, so they have my full confidence.

Answer 3

throughtout should be throughout

The word "their" has been used correctly because it is referring to the couple as a whole. Unless of course the couple changed their point of view and where their innocence would be past tense, has would be then be changed to had.

Answer 4

Technically, it's permissible to use a plural for a collective noun in this instance, when you're speaking about a collection of individuals. For example, you can say, "the group are against this," meaning that you're focusing on the individuals in the group, rather than on the group as a unit.

Answer 5

Firstly, "has" should have been "had", as MAINTAINED is past tense. The word couple is a singular noun, so it should have been 'its' innocence.
Also, (although this may have only been a 'typo' on your part,) the spelling of 'throughout' is incorrect.

Answer 6

"The couple HAS maintained THEIR..."

has is singular
their is plural

It needs to be either:

"The couple have maintained their..."
(the couple treated as two people - my preferred option)

or

"The couple has maintained its..."
(the couple treated as a single entity)

Answer 7

it's a spelling error
throughtout
should be
throughout